European Court Approves Extradition of Five Terror Suspects to US

25 Sep 2012

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has approved a U.S. request for the extradition of Abu Hamza al-Masri, Babar Ahmad, Syed Talha Ahsan, Adel Abdul Bary, and Khaled al-Fawwaz.

Although attorneys for the men had argued their clients would face “inhumane and degrading treatment if imprisoned for life” in the U.S., the ECHR ruled “there would be no violation of the applicants’ rights if extradited to stand trial in the United States.”

Al-Masri (pictured above) is a radical cleric whom the U.S. has been asking British authorities to hand over for years. He is accused of contributing to the capture of 16 hostages in Yemen, including two Americans, and of trying to set up an Al-Qaeda training camp in Oregon prior to the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Up till now, all five men have managed to delay this decision on extradition via various legal arguments based on human rights. However, with the ECHR’s ruling, the Britain Home Office says the delays are over: “We will work to ensure that the individuals are handed over to the US as quickly as possible.”